//------------------------------// // Chapter 30 // Story: Upgrading the Railway Network // by The Stainmore Phoenix //------------------------------// One minute. Everything changes within one minute. No one knows that more than the signal staff. Their responsibility is to safely pass trains and keep to the time tables. Any delays are to be immediately relayed to them and they take the appropriate measures. The signalers at Equestria Canterlot station know this duty all too well. At peak hours, they pass anywhere between 15 and 45 trains, from pick up goods to express passenger trains. One crossed signal, one wrong set of points set for the wrong road, one mistaken flag can spell disaster. Often times, trains are running on yellow signals at peak hours instead of greens, so more trains can be squeezed through. One such example was when a Changeling Signaler passed a slurry train on five minutes after passing an express to Van Hoover. “Stupid,” he growled. “I know,” replied his booking colt, a pegasus filly of 15 replied. “But it's how things are to go, until that new box it built.” The Changeling growled again, before accepting a pick up goods from Manehatten. He belled that he had a pick up goods shunting and wouldn't be able to accept a train for 20 minutes at the outset, then set his instruments to reflect that. He was getting ready to look out for the goods when he heard the bell ring, then.... “GOOD GLORY!” “What?!” he demanded, running over. “The idiots from Cloudsdale Lower passed a tanker train!” He stared, before calling the box at Cloudsdale Lower sidings. “Aye, we passed tanker train,” came the reply. “You said yous had space.” “I did not!” the Changeling roared. “I told you I had a pick up goods coming in and shunting!” There was an awkward, and choked horrified silence. Five minutes later, after hanging up the phone, the Changeling lifted it and called the yards at Ponyville. “Send up the cranes.” The confirmation was heard when asked why. A noise, greater than thunder ripped through. “We'll send them up right away!” He hung up and turned to see that both trains had tried to occupy platform 5, the main goods platform at Canterlot station. Five seconds later, a large fireball charged the box. The changeling, taking no chance, threw the filly out of the box as the fire engulfed it. Fireponies were on hand immediately, but it took 18 hours to subdue the fire. By the time they got in, the box was melted and there was a giant dome in the middle of the box. “What's that?” one asked. The dome crumbled to show the signal changeling there, singed and some cut marks. They charged him and began to cover the wounds and cover the burns in burn cream. “Your lucky,” one of the fireponies said. “I....urgh.....know....gah....” he groaned as the cold cream hit the cuts and burns. “Can you apply that any more savagely?” The fireponies chuckled and continued to tend to him, as the first drops of rain began to fall. The changeling closed his eyes as the soothing sound of the rain hit the ground. Meanwhile, a goods crew was battling through the downpour. “Can't these weather ponies keep the weather straight?” the driver asked. “That'd be simple,” the firecolt said. “And as we all know, nothing can be kept simple.” Just then, they heard a crash of thunder and saw flashes of lightning. The driver looked up to see the weather worsening. “Just our luck,” he growled. The points diverted them into an old bay platform. The signalcolt came down and told them they were being diverted into the bay due to weather washing out a section of line just beyond Canterlot. “Great,” the firecolt moaned. “We'll be safe here,” the driver said. The crew looked around, hoping to find some light or a station sign. Nothing. The station itself was overgrown, with shattered windows and some eroded brickwork and rotten wood beams. The lights were rusted and showing signs of years of neglect. “At least we have each other,” the driver muttered. Just then, they glanced over to the old platelayers hut and noticed a Hippogryph, two unicorns, two pegasi, two earth ponies, one changeling, one gryphon, and two dragons. They all wore platelayers clothes and looked like washed up trouts. “What in the....?” asked the driver. “Don't know,” the firecolt said. They watched the gang of platelayers. They seemed to be in some kind of mental checklist state and unaware of their surroundings. The crew watched as they gathered their tools and headed for a brick wall. “Wait...isn't that.....” “Yes, Red Tunnel.” “Red Tunnel” was a relatively long tunnel-8 miles. It looped over itself twice, as well as follow a gradient down into the Moorlands Changeling Hive. It has two sharp grades- a 1-in-40 and a 1-in-20. The tunnel was in service for only twenty minutes, before it saw it's only fatal accident and after that, it was bricked up. However, many times in the past few weeks, ghosts of those who perished in the mishap have been showing up, sometimes standing outside the tunnel like statues, other times, they walked into bricked up to the tunnel. However, the dark story of the tunnel was a secret well guarded by the Library of the Hive of the Moorlands, due to all the secrets it held which were connected to a pony who was away.